Convert & Jon Klassen: RBC Blue Water Project

This gentle spot for RBC’s Blue Water Project directed by The Ebeling’s Group’s Convert charms me with its earthy palette and restrained animation style. Each comp is well planned but not overly wrought, walking the line between minimalism and an easy-going gestural style for a blend that’s calm and approachable.

Big props to Jon Klassen, whose illustration style defined the aesthetic for the spot. He’s a perfect match for the message at hand. If you’re new to Klassen’s work, make sure to watch “An Eye for Annai” after you’ve checked out his illustration portfolio.

Credits

Posted on 4 September 2008 by justin	(40 votes: 4.53 out of 5)  Loading ... Comments (7)

Dvein and Alex Trochut: Voll Damm Jazz

[Slow? Try the Motionographer mirror]

Barcelona badasses Dvein and Alex Trochut teamed up on this stylish spot (Motionographer mirror) for Spanish beer-maker Voll Damm and the Vitoria and Barcelona Jazz festival. It’s a beautifully fluid bit of impressionism that shifts and oozes with the improvisational spirit of jazz itself.

Credits

Posted on 2 September 2008 by justin	(47 votes: 3.7 out of 5)  Loading ... Comments (19)

F5 Launches

F5’s web presence has officially launched! If you haven’t already heard about F5, it’s a two-day design festival on Thursday, April 16th and Friday, April 17th at New York City’s Roseland Ballroom. To quote the site:

F5 is founded on the belief that true change occurs when you look outside your world and explore new horizons. The festival fosters creative collisions—unexpected insights from sources you didn’t see coming. The goal is nothing less than to change the way you think about your work and your life.

Check out the site for more details. Make sure to sign up for the F5 mailing list to get the latest news. We’ve got a ton of great things in store, and I’d hate for anyone to miss out.

On a personal note, I’m really excited about this event. It’s going to be huge. The whole F5 team is pouring its heart into it because we truly believe that when artists and designers get together and share their creative visions, good things happen.

We also know its going to be a blast: Incredible presenters, art exhibits, original motion work, a full bar and a bad ass after party—all in one of the greatest cities in the world.

Posted on 1 September 2008 by justin	(33 votes: 4.33 out of 5)  Loading ... Comments (14)

MBX Trailer by Guilherme Marcondes

Hornet director, Guilherme Marcondes, was recently tapped to lead this trailer for an upcoming project based on an Indian epic tale, the Mahabharata, written by the esteemed comic book writer Grant Morrison. The trailer hints at what will become a major franchise that will include the creation of several animated projects including a feature film and video games.

This trailer sets the tone of what we can expect visually from this epic story, and that is a tone of absolute beauty. To me, this is a culmination of video game graphics meets motion graphics with wonderfully realized characters mixed in with beautifully designed shots. I only hope that Guilherme gets to do more for this franchise just to see where he can take it visually.

Posted on 29 August 2008 by jsaunders	(57 votes: 2.91 out of 5)  Loading ... Comments (6)

Back to Beijing with Eric Lerner

A couple weeks ago, we posted Eric Lerner’s fantastic Olympics advert for Coke. We recently had a chance to catch up with him for a little Q&A. Here’s what he said:

The character-driven narrative seems like a natural extension of your Mr. CityMen series. Did W+K have you in mind when they approached Partizan for the project?
Yes. They said they really liked the mood and style of the Mr. City Men films and wanted to do something similar to that with the Coke commercial.

With all the locations and camera work, this looks like a pretty big project. Just how big was it?
Partizan’s involvement in the spot started nearly a year before completion. Character design and story refinement took several months, then filming took us to three different continents during a month of shooting. There were several locations in each country, as well as local crews for each stop. Animation then took another three months. (more…)

Posted on 28 August 2008 by justin	(28 votes: 4 out of 5)  Loading ... Continue reading or Comments (5)